|
By Rommel C. Lontayao, Reporter
Stepparents are often viewed as unloving and
unkind. Fictional stories, especially fairy tales, often portray
stepmothers as cruel, wicked and evil.
This wrong perception is what Johnny Fong,
a Chinese-Filipino physician and surgeon working in the United
States since 1972, is trying to correct with his new book that tells
the fictional origin of the observance of Mother’s Day.
In his first foray into publishing, Dr.
Fong says his book entitled Princess Grace of Prettyville: A
Mother’s Day Story will present the character of a stepmother in a
refreshingly different way.
“Stereotypes would say stepmoms are
wicked and evil. Even Walt Disney is guilty of that,” said Dr.
Fong, who noted that both famous Disney characters Snow White and
Cinderella had cruel stepmothers.
“Now, the general population of the
United States, more than 50 percent, is cared for by stepmothers. So
I think it is high time that we break the stereotype and honor the
stepmoms out there,” he emphasized.
The origin of the celebration of
Mother’s Day, according to his book, was in recognition of the
deeds of the story’s heroine, Princess Grace, who happens to play
the role of a stepmother.
Dr. Fong, who became editor of the pre-med
newspaper in the University of the Philippines (UP) and associate
editor of the UP Medical Alumni Society in America newsletter, said
the story was inspired by events that happened in his own life.
“I wrote it in honor of my second wife,
who went through a lot emotionally, dealing with my first wife and
the six children that I had with my first wife,” he reveals.
He started to write the story on
Mother’s Day about eight years ago. It took a year for him to
finish the first draft, after which he and his wife made constant
revisions, and later on, added graphics and songs.
One reason why the publication of the book
was delayed was because they tried to include a lot of things in the
book.
“We tried to include the songs, which
Louie Ocampo did for us, and the music and lyric sheets. However,
the book became too thick so we had to remove the added stuff.”
The 91-page book, full of colorful
illustrations and poems, is only available in the United States but
the author plans a launching of the book here in the country
sometime after Mother’s Day. The book will cost around P680 and
Dr. Fong said most of the earnings from the sales will go to a
scholarship program for Muslims in Cotabato City.
“Forty percent will go to the bookstore,
and then the rest, minus the production cost, will go to the
scholarship for the Muslims,” he said, adding that he expects to
send to school at least 10 Muslim students who may want to go to the
health-care field.
|
